Phone Tax Increase Fails in Pr. George's As Montgomery Considers Tax Cap Protocol

Anti-tax sentiment prompted Prince George's County voters to reject a ballot measure yesterday that would have raised the tax on telephone bills to aid schools, but a widely contested attempt to curb annual property tax increases in Montgomery County was too close to call.

Meanwhile, three-term Montgomery County school board member Stephen N. Abrams appeared headed to defeat, signaling challenges ahead for veteran Superintendent Jerry D. Weast. Weast has counted Abrams among a shifting group of allies essential to pushing his academic agenda forward.

The proposed amendment to Montgomery's charter by longtime anti-tax activist Robin Ficker would make it more difficult for local leaders to exceed a local tax cap that ties annual increases to the rate of inflation. Overriding the cap currently requires a vote of seven of nine county council members. The amendment would require a unanimous vote by the nine members.

Ficker has worked to curb local taxes for three decades without success. The latest incarnation of the "Ficker amendment" would effectively give any council member veto power when the group attempts to surpass the tax cap. The council bypassed the cap this year, allowing property taxes for the average homeowner to rise by 13 percent. Most of the county's elected officials came out against the measure. In a recorded phone message to residents, County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) called it "bad policy."

But Ficker said the county council is "looking at the homes in Montgomery County as their personal ATMs. I think that the voters agreed with me that Montgomery County needs change."

Council members have surpassed the cap four times since it was enacted by voters in 1990. Some civic leaders believe anti-tax sentiment fueled support for Ficker's amendment this year. A version of the measure won 49.4 percent of the vote in 1994, when, as now, taxes were rising and government services seemed to be dwindling.

In Prince George's, County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) recommended raising the local telephone tax from 8 percent to 11 percent of monthly bills to generate $17 million a year for schools. The tax would have cost residents as much as $1.50 per bill, county spokesman John Erzen said. The county took back $14 million from the school system's $1.7 billion operating budget this fiscal year to help close a $57 million revenue shortfall.

Erzen said the county budget did not presume revenue from the proposed tax increase.

A coalition of phone companies, civic groups and businesses rallied against the measure, which would have given Prince George's one of the highest phone tax rates in the country.

"Unnecessary and inappropriate taxes are not something that people look forward to, particularly at a time when people are struggling," said Mike Little, president of B&W Solutions in Oxon Hill. "Nobody wants higher taxes, Democrats or Republicans."

Montgomery voters yesterday also appeared poised to seat two new school board members. The exit of Weast ally Sharon W. Cox from an at-large seat opened the door for Phil Kauffman, a seasoned parent leader.

In the Rockville-Potomac area, longtime board member Abrams trailed challenger Laura V. Berthiaume. Berthiaume has the support of teachers. Abrams is known as a staunch supporter of Weast on a school board sometimes accused of rubber-stamping his decisions.

"I think the voters really want accountability, and they really want oversight," Berthiaume said. "This is Montgomery County. That's what they expect from their government."